Composite brush



A ril 14, 1964 J. VALLlS 3,128,487 COMPOSITE BRUSH Filed Feb. 19, 1962 2Sheets- Sheet 1 INVENTOR:

AI'IORMEAY April 14, 1964 v Lu 3,128,487

COMPOSITE BRUSH Filed Feb. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: .faStP/v'mu/s wake- A622,-

United States Patent 3,128,487 COMPOSITE BRUSH Joseph Vallis, Toronto,Ontario, Canada, assignor to Valden Company, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaFiled Feb. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 173,883 8 Claims. (Cl. 15-176) The presentinvention relates to brushes in general, and more particularly to acomposite brush which comprises two or more types of hairs, bristles orteeth.

An important object of the invention is to provide a brush whereinsofter bristles are combined with stiffer bristles or teeth in such away that the brushing, combing, or scrubbing action of stiifer bristlesis immediately followed by the brushing action of softer or more pliablebristles to bring about an improved brushing eifect.

Another object of the invention is to provide a composite brush of thejust outlined characteristics which is especially suited for use as ahair brush in that the skininvigorating and hair-combing action ofstifler bristles is combined with the hair-smoothing action of thesofter bristles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a com posite brush inwhich the bristles may be separated from the back support to facilitatecleaning thereof or to replace worn out bristles by a new set ofbristles.

An additional object of the instant invention is to provide a compositebrush which is of eye-pleasing appearance in that different types ofand/ or differently colored bristles may be assembled in a novel way toincrease the sales appeal of the ultimate product.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a novel attachmentfor the back support of a brush.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an attachment of thejust outlined characteristics which may be manufactured in any desiredcolor or shape so as to be connectable with differently dimensioned and/or configurated back supports and to form composite brushes orcombination brushes and combs of the above outlined charcteristics.

With the above objects in view, the invention resides in the provisionof a composite brush or combination brush and comb comprising at leasttwo bristle carriers one of which is formed with apertures orperforations for the bristles of the other carrier so that the bristlesof the one carrier penetrate through and extend between the bristles ofthe other carrier. The one carrier may assume the form of a handgripmember or each of the carriers may assume the form of a substantiallysheet like bristly structure with one thereof preferably detachablyconnected to a separate handgrip member or back support.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following detailed description of certainspecific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a composite brush which embodies oneform of my invention;

PEG. 2 is a perspective view of a back support which forms part of thecomposite brush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an apertured bristle carrier which formspart of the brush shown in FIG. 1 and which is detachably connectable tothe back support of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second bristle carrier whose bristlesmay extend through the apertures of the carrier shown in FIG. 3 andwhich forms part of the composite brush shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged transverse section as seen in the direction ofarrows from the line V-V of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section through a slightly modified compositebrush wherein the back support constitutes one of the bristle carriers;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary transverse section through a different compositebrush which comprises three bristle carriers; and

FIG. 8 is a transverse section through a further brush which againcomprises three bristle carriers but wherein two of the carriers arearranged side-by-side rather than within each other.

Referring now in greater detail to the illustrated embodiments, andfirst to FIG. 1, there is shown a composite brush A which comprises aback support 11 and an attachment including an outer bristle carrier orpanel 2 and an inner bristle carrier or panel 3. The brush A is assumedto constitute a hair brush or a combined brush and comb and its backsupport 1 is provided with an elongated handle or handgrip means 4 whichis integral therewith and which extends from one of its longitudinalends. The entire brush is assumed to consist of synthetic plasticmaterial and, in order to enhance its appearance, the individualcomponents of this brush are preferably made of differently coloredsubstances. For example, the back support 1 may consist of transparentor translucent polystyrene, the inner panel 3 may consist of transparentor translucent alkatene, and the outer panel 2 may consist of blackalkatene plastic.

The back support 1 comprises two spaced parallel edge portions 5, 6(FIG. 2) which are respectively formed with open L-shaped grooves orchannels 7, 8 so as to accommodate parallel L-shaped edge portions ortongues 9, 10 of the outer panel 2 (see FIG. 3) when the brush A isassembled in the manner shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. The grooves 7, 8 openinto the front end face of the back support 1 and terminate close to therear end of the back support so that the tongues 9, 10 may be receivedtherein by slipping the panel 2 onto the back support in the directionindicated in FIG. 2 by the arrow 11. The grooves 7, 8 and the tongues 9,10 together constitute means for detachably securing the panels 2, 3 tothe back support. The back support is formed with a transversely archedconvex supporting surface 12 which extends between the grooves 7, 8 andwhich abuts against the inner side of the inner panel 3 when the brush Ais fully assembled.

The outer bristle carrier or panel 2 is shown in greater detail in FIG.3. It comprises a plurality of bristles 13 which project from its outerside and which are arranged in spaced rows ag extending in parallelismwith each other and with the tongues 9, 10. These rows of bristles 13alternate with parallel rows a'h of apertures or holes 14 which extendbetween the inner and outer sides of the panel 2. The roots of thebristles 13 are integral with the sheet-like main body portion of thepanel 2 and these bristles are assumed to be comparatively soft andpliable. The entire panel 2 is preferably at least slightly elastic andhence flexible so that it may be deformed in order to follow theoutlines of the supporting surface 12.

The inner bristle carrier or panel 3 (FIG. 4) is preferably at leastslightly elastic or flexible, and its outer side is provided with eightspaced parallel rows a"h" of comparatively stiff bristles 0r comb teeth15 so that these rows of bristles or teeth 15 may pass through therespective rows ah of apertures 14 in a manner as illustrated in FIG. 5.The roots of the bristles 15 are integral with the sheet-like main bodyportion of the panel 3.

The brush A is assembled as follows:

In the first step, the bristles or teeth 15 are passed through therespective apertures 14 so that the attachment including the panels 2, 3is completely assembled, i.e. the outer side of the inner panel 3 isthen adjacent to the inner side of the outer panel 2. In the next step,the tongues 9, 1% are respectively introduced into the grooves 7, 8 andthe brush is assembled by moving the tongues in the direction indicatedby the arrow 11. Since the material of the panel 2 is at least slightlyelastic, the tongues h, 10 may be at least slightly compressed duringmovement into and thereupon retained by friction in their respectivegrooves. If desired, the outer side of the panel 3 and/or the inner sideof the panel 2 may be coated with a suitable adhesive substance so thatthe panels may form a unitary non-separable attachment which is slippedonto or off the supporting surface 12 of the back support 1.

Of course, the bristles 13, and the apertures 14 may be arranged in anumber of ways so as to form different eye-pleasing and/or utilitarianpatterns. For example, the rows of bristles 13, 15 and the rows ofapertures 14 may extend transversely between the edge portions 5, 6 ofthe back support 1, they may extend diagonally across the supportingsurface 12, they may form rectangular or otherwise configurated fieldsof bristles and apertures, and so forth. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to5, the apertures 14 are circular, the stiffer bristles or teeth 15 areof circular cross section, and the softer bristles 13 are comparativelyflat. The brush A may be utilized as a combination brush and comb inthat the combing, scrubbing and massaging action of the stiffer bristlesor teeth 15 is combined with the smoothing or brushing action of thesofter bristles 13. The main body portion of the outer panel 2 may besomewhat more flexible than the main body portion of the inner panel 3so that the outer panel may be more readily deformed and flexedpreparatory to and during introduction of bristles or teeth 15 into therespective apertures 14, as well as during subsequent introduction ofthe tongues 9, 141 into the respective grooves of the back support 1.

The inner panel 3 need not be attached to the back support since it issafely retained by engagement of its bristles or teeth 15 with the wallsbounding the apertures 14 and by being received between the supportingsurface 12 and the inner side of the outer panel. The back support 1 maybe rigid or it may consist of deformable plastic material.

FIG. 6 illustrates a greatly simplified composite brush or combinationbrush and comb B which comprises a first bristle carrier or back support1111 and a second bristle carrier or panel 102 whose dovetailed edgeportions or tongues 10?, 110 are respectively received in dovetailedgrooves 107, 1% provided in the edge portions 105, 166 of the backsupport. The latter comprises a plurality of rows of bristles 115 whichextend from its exposed side or supporting surface 112 and which project through aligned apertures 114 formed in the panel 102. The rows ofapertures 114 and of bristles 115 alternate With rows of bristles 113which are integral with and project from the outer side of the panel102. It will be noted that the inner side of the panel 1% abuts againstand is supported by the surface 112, and that the bristles 115 projectbetween the bristles 113, i.e. beyond the outer side of the panel 102.It is preferred to construct the brush B in such a way that, if one setof bristles is to be stiffer than the other set, the bristles 115 arestiffer because it is more convenient to pass comparatively stiffbristles or teeth 115 through the apertures 114. The tongues 109, 116and the grooves 107, 1118 may but need not extend in the longitudinaldirection of the back support 1111 and these tongues and grooves may butneed not be parallel with the rows of bristles 113, 115. If it isdesired to replace the panel m2 by a new one, the user forciblywithdraws the tongues 1119, 1111 from the respective grooves andthereupon moves the panel 1% away from the supporting surface 112. A newpanel is applied by reversing the just described proced re.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a composite brush C which comprisesa back support 2&1, an outermost bristle carrier or panel 202, aninnermost bristle carrier or panel 2%, and a median or intermediatebristle carrier or panel 216. The outermost panel 292 is provided withoutwardly extending bristles 213 and with two groups of apertures 2114a,1214b. The apertures 214a, 21411 are arranged in adjacent parallel rowsand each pair of rows of apertures 214a, 2141) alternates with a row ofbristles 213. The apertures 214a receive the bristles 217 of the medianpanel 216, and this latter panel is formed with a group of apertures 218which are aligned with the apertures 21417. The innermost panel 203 isprovided with bristles 215 which extend through aligned apertures 218,21412 and beyond the outer side of the outermost panel 202. Thus, whenthe brush C is fully assembled, the rows of bristles 213, 217 and 215alternate with each other. The advantage of this brush is that thebristles may produce eye-pleasing effects if the panels 202, 203, 216consist of differently colored plastic material.

Referring finally to FIG. 8, there is shown a composite brush D which issimilar to the brush A of FIGS. 1 to 5 excepting that the inner bristlecarrier or panel is divided into two equal bristle carriers or panels3a, 3b and that the back support In simultaneously constitutes thehandgrip means of the brush. The panels 3a, 3b are placed sideby-sideand are respectively provided with outwardly projecting bristles 15a,1511 which extend through apertures 14 formed in the outer bristlecarrier or panel 2. The bristles 15a, 1512 project beyond the outer sideof the panel 2 and bet-ween the latters bristles 13. The color of thebristles 15a is preferably different from the color of the bristles 15band/or 13.

For example, the bristles 15a, 1512 may be sufficiently stiff to act asthe teeth of a comb, and the bristles 13 are then at least slightlysofter so as to smooth the hair which is being combed by the teeth 15a,15:). The manner in which the tongues 9, 16 of the outer panel 2 areretained in the grooves '7, 8 is the same as described in connectionwith FIGS. 1 and 5. The back support 1a comprises a handle 4a so thatthis back support actually constitutes the handgrip means of the brushD.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a composite brush, in combination, a first panel having an innerside, an outer side, a first and a second group of apertures extendingbetween said inner side and said outer side, and a plurality of bristlesprojecting from said outer side; a second panel having an inner side, anouter side adjacent to the inner side of said first panel, a pluralityof apertures aligned with the first group of apertures in said firstpanel, and a plurality of bristles extending through the second group ofapertures in said first panel and projecting beyond the outer side andbetween the bristles of said first panel; and a third panel having aside adjacent to the inner side of said second panel, and a plurality ofbristles extending through the aligned apertures of said first andsecond panels and projecting beyond the outer side and between thebristles of said first panel.

2. A composite brush comprising, in combination, a first panel having apair of spaced parallel edge portions, an inner side, an outer side, afirst and a second group of apertures extending between said inner sideand said outer side, and a plurality of bristles projecting from saidouter side; a second panel having an inner side, and outer side adjacentto the inner side of said first panel, a plurality of apertures alignedwith the first group of apertures in said first panel, and a pluralityof bristles extending through the second group of apertures in saidfirst panel and projecting beyond the outer side and between thebristles of said first panel; a third panel having an inner side, anouter side adjacent to the inner side of said second panel, and aplurality of bristles extending through the aligned apertures of saidfirst and second panels and projecting beyond the outer side and betweenthe bristles of said first panel; a back support having a supportingsurface adjacent to the inner side of said third panel and a pair ofspaced parallel edge portions respectively adjacent to the edge portionsof said first panel; and means provided on the edge portions of saidfirst panel and of said back support for detachably connecting saidfirst panel with said back support whereby the second and third panelsare automatically retained between the inner side of said first paneland the supporting surface of said back support.

3. A composite brush comprising, in combination, an outer bristlecarrier having an inner side and an outer side and apertures extendingbetween said inner side and said outer side, and a plurality of separatebristles projecting from said outer side; an inner bristle carrierhaving an outer side adjacent to the inner side of said outer bristlecarrier and having an inner side turned away from said outer bristlecarrier and a plurality of separate bristles each extending through oneof said apertures in said outer bristle carrier and projecting beyondthe outer side and between the bristles of said outer carrier; acombined support and handle member having a handle portion and asupporting portion, said supporting portion having a surface adapted tosupport the inner side of said inner bristle carrier; easily detachableattaching means provided on said outer bristle carrier along the edgesthereof and being outwardly spaced from said inner bristle carrier; andcomplementary attaching means provided on said supporting portion ofsaid combined support and handle and cooperating with said firstmentioned attaching means for easily detachably attaching said outercarrier only to said supporting portion so that said inner carrier isretained on said supporting portion of said combined support and handleby said outer bristle carrier without being directly secured to saidsupporting portion of said combined support and handle and whereby saidinner bristle carrier can be removed together with said outer bristlecarrier from said combined support and handle by detaching said easilydetachable attaching means on said outer bristle carrier from thecomplementary attaching means on said supporting portion of saidcombined support and handle.

4. A composite brush as set forth in claim 3, wherein said inner bristlecarrier comprises a plurality of panels.

5. A composite brush as set forth in claim 3, wherein at least one ofsaid bristle carriers consists of flexible elastic material.

6. A composite brush as set forth in claim 3, wherein the bristles ofone of said carriers are stiffer than the bristles of the other carrier.

7. A composite brush as set forth in claim 3, wherein said supportingsurface is of convex shape and wherein each of said bristle carriersconsists of sheet-like synthetic plastic material.

8. A composite brush as set forth in claim 3, wherein the bristles ofeach carrier are disposed in parallel rows and wherein the rows ofbristles of the inner carrier al ternate with the rows of bristles ofthe outer carrier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 75,421Hayward Mar. 10, 1868 1,142,698 Grove et al. June 8, 1915 2,279,355Wilensky Apr. 14, 1942 2,795,807 Salvy June 18, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS1,033,178 Germany July 3, 1958

1. IN A COMPOSITE BRUSH, IN COMBINATION, A FIRST PANEL HAVING AN INNERSIDE, AN OUTER SIDE, A FIRST AND A SECOND GROUP OF APERTURES EXTENDINGBETWEEN SAID INNER SIDE AND SAID OUTER SIDE, AND A PLURALITY OF BRISTLESPROJECTING FROM SAID OUTER SIDE; A SECOND PANEL HAVING AN INNER SIDE, ANOUTER SIDE ADJACENT TO THE INNER SIDE OF SAID FIRST PANEL, A PLURALITYOF APERTURES ALIGNED WITH THE FIRST GROUP OF APERTURES IN SAID FIRSTPANEL, AND A PLURALITY OF BRISTLES EXTENDING THROUGH THE SECOND GROUP OFAPERTURES IN SAID FIRST PANEL AND PROJECTING BEYOND THE OUTER SIDE ANDBE-